Making kapa using an i'e kuku and a kua
An i'e kuku (left) and a hohoa (right)
Kapa Workshop – After the Weekend
Absolutely beautiful! Awesome! For a couple of days, the odor of fermenting wauke (paper mulberry) and the tap tapping of hohoa (tapa beaters) combined with the sound of a Dremel carving into bamboo to make ‘ohe kapala (bamboo stamps) filled Kalaekilohana. About a dozen people came to spend the weekend with Joni-Mae Makuakane-Jarrell and Micah Kamohoali’i to make kapa (barkcloth).
They worked diligently for three days to make their own piece of kapa from scraping the bark, to stripping the fiber off the wauke, and then soaking, and beating repeatedly to make fine pieces of cloth. Most haumana (students) made their own tools and came with a kua, hohoa, and i’e kuku (anvil, primary beater, and finish beater).
Watching the process, it was amzing to watch as the basts of fiber began to breakdown and little by little, felt together and finely spread longer and wider. Sometimes, a troublesome spot would need a little extra care as multiple layers would meld as their loving creator would nudge and tap the fiber to a consistent even beautiful piece of kapa.
As they neared something they were happy with, they used their i’e kuku to leave a watermark signature on their kapa. After allowing their kapa to dry in the sun, the addition of color using dyes from native plants mixed with a little pa’akai (salt) and alae (clay) from a variety of sources, each chose dye colors they liked and colored their piece. Some got warm lavendar from ‘olapa, others a subtle green from the endemic ma’o hau hele, and some even tried some of the beet juice from the mornings’ breakfast for a rosy red.